The police force says it aims to put a stop to online crime with the new team of officers, who will monitor Internet activities 24/7, working in three shifts. The members of the team will be chosen from among officers with a university degree. The “Virtual Safety Teams” idea is comparable to teams created by the police in the past to combat purse-snatching in İstanbul. These teams worked in plainclothes and were very effective. It is hoped that the new team will be as effective in stopping online crime, which has seen a steep rise in parallel to increased Internet usage.The Turkish Banks Association (TBB) will support the İstanbul Police Department’s new project with both technical staff and TL 4 million in financial assistance. The system to be set up by the police is also expected to increase the security of online transactions and e-commerce. Speaking with Today’s Zaman, İstanbul Police Chief Hüseyin Çapkın noted that many Turks avoided shopping online due to concerns about the security of their transactions, leading to decreased economic activity on the Internet. With the new system, online shopping will become more secure, benefitting both consumers and businesses. Within approximately a year, the new online security force should start working, Çapkın said, adding that the effort will include the involvement of all Turkish banks to create a comprehensive and ultra-secure system to prevent fraud.
The Virtual Security Team will be subordinate to the İstanbul Police Department Information Crimes and Systems Division and will also join forces with relevant international authorities and institutions. Information Crimes and Systems Division head Turan Odabaş said an Internet culture has not yet developed in Turkey and that this creates additional need for families and children to receive education about the Internet. He noted that as part of the new project Web sites with features such as forums and social networks will be monitored closely as they attract large numbers of people and are therefore are targets for many crimes.
